Probably every computer user has heard of such a concept as Plug and Play. It has long been included in the everyday language of computer scientists. Despite the ease of translation, not everyone understands the topic "Plug and Play - what is it?". Let's try to consider this issue in more detail.
Plug and play - what is it?
Let's start with the translation of the term Plug and Play, sometimes referred to as Plug & Play or PnP. If you stick to the literal translation from English, then plug means “enable”, “connect”, “connect”, and play - “play”. So what is it? Plug and play - what is it? It is possible to give an answer in the form of an interpretation like “plug and play (work)”.
In other words, when a new device (not yet present in the system) is connected to the computer, it is automatically detected. In this case, after installing the component, it can be used in work immediately, bypassing any manual manipulations for installing software for it in the form of the same drivers.
How did Plug and Play technology come about?
The appearance of the now ubiquitous Plug and Play technology dates back to 1995. It was created thanks to the efforts of the developers of Western Digital Corporation, which played a key role in its development.
At that time, it wasn’t something particularly new, since earlier it was used in a slightly different form on MCA and EISA buses. With the advent of the PCI bus, which has become a true industry standard, the innovation in computer technology was adopted by Microsoft Corporation, which first tried to implement it in Windows 98.
Naturally, that system was still very raw compared to later products, and the list of supported devices was quite limited. However, a start has been made. Now any system has support for Plug and Play. What is it from a modern point of view, can be explained on the simplest examples.
Basic principles of work
Roughly speaking, an example of the operation of the Plug and Play technology can be seen when a regular flash drive is connected to the computer via the USB port. The system in the tray displays a message that a new device has been found, and after some time reports that it is ready to work. By the way, this applies to any "iron" component.
We will not go into technical aspects. It’s enough for the ordinary user that when connecting any device that supports this standard, the “OS” automatically determines its type and manufacturer, and then in the same mode, without user intervention, installs the most suitable driver from its database for correct operation (except rare cases). Note that at the end of the process, even a reboot is not required.